During their first meeting of the academic year, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees approved a new sports arena in the South Neighborhood, construction of a laboratory building for College of Agriculture and Natural Resources students and renovations to Anthony Hall.
A summary of the Board’s actions is below:
New Arena in South District
Development in the South District continues to advance.
The board gave the go-ahead for MSU administration to move forward with plans for a mixed-use development anchored by a 4,000-seat arena to host Big Ten Conference regional tournaments. The proposed facility would be directly next door to a new student wellness and recreation center currently under construction.
The arena is being built to put Michigan State in line with most of its Big Ten peers, who already have venues capable of hosting regional tournaments, which became necessary as part of the Big Ten’s recent expansion. The university has not yet announced what sports will be played in the arena.
“Without new facilities, we likely would not be able to host home games on a regular basis,” the resolution states. “This would put us at a competitive disadvantage.”
The resolution states that portions of the 14 acres outside the proposed arena site “may include buildings to support academic programs, a hotel to complement the Kellogg Center, a retail/office/residential complex, market-rate housing and parking facilities for use on the site.”
During the meeting, President Kevin Guskiewicz said he was “impressed by the untapped potential” of the site, which was under development in March, and said he believed it could become a “dynamic hub for innovation.”
The resolution says the project would be funded through event revenues and donations, but stipulates that the developer “will be given the opportunity to contribute funding to the arena if the project model is improved.”
New Plant and Environmental Science Laboratory
The board approved new laboratories and research buildings for the plant and environmental science programs.
Construction on the new building, to be built on the northeast corner of Farm Lane and Wilson Road, is expected to be substantially complete in January 2027. According to the council’s proposal, it would have four floors, a basement and a penthouse.
The $200 million project would replace the aging Center for Integrated Plant Systems building and support a research facility that will attract top scientists, according to the committee’s proposal.
New roof for Anthony Hall
The board approved $560,000 for roof renovations at Anthony Hall.
According to the committee’s proposal, the current roofing system, installed in 1955, would be replaced with a new slate-covered pitched roof, new gutters and downspouts and insulation.
A new roof will improve the building’s insulation, eliminate water infiltration, and stop ice from clogging gutters and falling on pedestrians.
Lansing signs lease to expand child development lab
The university received approval from the Board of Trustees to purchase a lease on building space in Lansing as part of an expansion of the Child Development Lab, a program in the School of Social Sciences.
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Currently based in East Lansing and Haslett, CDL serves as a daycare and early learning center for preschool-age children, where Michigan State University students receive training in early childhood education and conduct research on child development. CDL receives a combined state and federal budget of just over $4 million.
Funding for the lease agreement will come from “a combination of external funding, the School of Social Sciences, the Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Child Development Lab, the chancellor and other potential grants,” according to the board resolution.
Lease to MSU Research Foundation
The board also approved the university leasing an additional five acres to the Michigan State University Research Foundation, which will use it for its new headquarters.
The MSU Research Foundation is affiliated with the university but not owned by it, investing endowments in companies that contribute to Michigan’s economy and providing grants for university research programs.
The foundation’s headquarters will be adjacent to land at the corner of Crescent and South Harrison streets that it leased from the university in 2019. On that lease, the foundation built the headquarters for TechSmith, a web design company that was formerly located in Okemos.
“The Foundation envisions a new facility adjacent to TechSmith in East Lansing that will be a hub for research, innovation and commercialization,” the resolution states. “The facility and the broad range of programs there will foster the growth and collaboration of science enterprises within the MSU ecosystem.”
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